Resources

The following resources provide material specific to the Johannes Brouwer Family

NYG&B RECORD Vol 138, No.4 (October 2oo7):245-260 -

page 245 “DNA Analysis: Adam Brouwer Berckhoven, Elias Brouwer of New Jersey, and John Brewer of Ohio.” Richard D. Brewer, Scott Kraus and William B. Bogardus and page 250 A Compiled Genealogy for “Jan Brouwer of Flatlands and Descendants”, [This new work contains the most definitive study of the Jan Brouwer family available and provides proof that Adam Brouwer is unrelated to this family line. See review provided below]

NYG&B RECORD Vol 67 (1936):217-8 John Reynolds Totten “Brouwer (Brower-Brewer) Family Notes” [Totten was an editor of the RECORD and the First Fellow of the New York Genealogy and Biographical Society. His work was the primary source of information on the the Jan Brouwer family prior to 2007, and is still a valuable resource.]

NYG&B RECORD Vol 9 (1878) T.G. Bergen, “Contributions to the History of Early Settlers of Kings County, N.Y. {This work provides insight and information taken from original documents for the Jan Brewer family, some of which Totten relied upon, but it is prone to errors and conclusions must be carefully verified. It is still worth consulting.] The book has been digitized by Google and can be searched by name. Johannes Brouwer can be found on page 53. Go to the web page:

The site describes and documents our research project aimed at augmenting our Y- DNA genetic genealogy and traditional genealogical research by using the FTDNA Family Finder autosomal testing of seven selected members of the group of Jan Brouwer descendants. NOTE: This site will be removed as of June 30 2012.

Visit the home page to find out more about this very excellent resource for research into New York's historic past. They sell copies of the Record from 1870 to 2007 at a price of $7.50 each for non-members which you can order and pay for online (it is $6.50 for members).The 2007 issue may not be available to non-members until Jan 2008.

They also carry an electronic index of all the issues from 1870 on CD, enabling a search by name to find the appropriate volume of interest.

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Review of the NYG&B DNA article and associated compiled Genealogy

This article provides definitive DNA evidence that dispels erroneous, unsubstantiated claims that have circulated for many years: that two 18th century pioneers, Elias Brouwer (1740-1812) of Oneonta, New York who married Phebe Lucas, and John Brewer (1733-1809) of Adams Co., Ohio, who married Elsie Dunbar, were each descendants of the 17th century immigrant Adam Brouwer Berkhoven (1620-1693) of Brooklyn, New Netherland.

The DNA research program has made available an ancestral Y- chromosome haplotype (the male genetic signature of the earliest known ancestor), at a significant 37 marker accuracy, for Adam Brouwer, Elias Brouwer, and John Brewer, by analysis and comparison of Y-DNA samples from 10th and 11th generation descendants of each of the men.

In outline, Elias Brouwer who married Phebe Lucas has been claimed, mistakenly, and without any supporting documentation, to be a descendant of Adam Brouwer through being the son of Abraham4 Brouwer (Jacob3, Jacobus2, Adam1) via an unsubstantiated claim of marriage in 1736 to Sarah Stephenson. This assertion, deemed erroneous by the genealogical research of Mr. William Bogardus, has persisted for years -- misleading other researchers who failed to recognize the original conjecture as such, or for other reasons, take the repeated claim as fact -- but has now been definitively proved to be false through analysis of the derived ancestral DNA haplotypes of Elias and Adam Brouwer.

Similarly, the mistaken claim that John Brewer who married Elsie Dunbar is a descendant of Adam Brouwer Berkhoven through being a son of Abraham4 Uldricks Brouwer ( Uldirick3, Pieter Adams2, Adam1) is proved to be false. By comparing DNA haplotypes it is shown that no relationship exists between John Brewer of Ohio and Adam Brouwer of New Netherland within genealogical time spans.

An unexpected fallout of the DNA analysis indicates that Elias and John do have a common ancestor and points to the strong possibility that they are both related to our 17th century immigrant, Johannes Brouwer who, as the article shows, is the paternal ancestor of Elias Brouwer.

Additionally, a compiled genealogical summary of Johannes Brouwer and descendants accompanies the DNA article and provides information regarding the descendants to the fourth generation found in the records of New York and New Jersey.